Blogger News: New Travel App Kompl Shows You What’s Around You. It’s Up To You To Find It 20.7.16

All places are equal, but some are just more equal than others.

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About

While guidebook sales are declining, the desire for a unique experience when traveling is stronger than ever.

Easy access to information online, and for free, allows anyone to travel to a location and readily know what they must see. But is that really what they want to see?

Tourists and travelers are more and more in search of that unique experience. But, the extensive tools available for sharing what they have seen and done while travelling make it clear that guidebooks only push us towards experiencing the lowest common denominator, unifying all ‘unique’ experiences into one.

Most of the disappointment stems from arriving in a town, city or even country that turns out to be far more touristy than anything [we] had imagined.

- Michael Glass, The Boutique Traveler

As a result, the desire for a truly one-of-a-kind experience when traveling is stronger than ever.

Shifting the focus

We believe that the travelling experience should focus on the journey instead of the destination.

The unique individual experience does not happen when taking a selfie in front of the Taj Mahal amid thousands of tourists, but while getting there. Taking the train from Delhi to Agra, getting from the train station in Agra to the Taj, while being accosted by the touts, or when searching for a place to eat, around the mausoleum. It’s the discovery of the people, the smells, and the unexpected attention of a cat on that street corner besides that one food stall that makes it a real, and transforming experience.

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

- John Lennon

In addition, plenty of digital tools exist to help tourists and travelers discover great places, both at home and while traveling. However, tools like Foursquare (and many others), assign an unambiguous rating to every destination. This appears straightforward, but also hides a number of issues from view.

Online ratings tend to be disproportionately positive.

- Sinan Aral, MIT Sloan Management Review

Introducing Kompl

Kompl shows you venues that are around you. But it’s up to you to explore and find them.

Kompl accesses multiple sources, like Foursquare, Wikipedia and others, showing you only popular and highly rated nearby destinations. We do not focus on the actual figure – 8, 9 or 10 – but we trust the wisdom of the crowd. And, most of all, we trust your eagerness to discover a new city, or rediscover your own.

Kompl only shows you where the venues are in relation to you, without presenting a map. As you get closer, more and more information is made available.

As a result, Kompl is a simple and engaging platform, working both online and offline, allowing you to explore an urban environment in a casual and care-free way. Kompl was inspired by the ideals of the Situationists, whom pursued creating situations, deliberately constructed for the purpose of initiating authentic experiences, even adventure. Kompl provides a digital platform for exploring an urban space in a less planned, more surprising manner.

Kompl is created to nudge its users out of their comfort zone creating a journey that is unique while fostering a new understanding of their urban environment.

Use Kompl. Keep your eyes and ears wide open. Today’s best experience is just around the corner.